


Yearly Traditions

by sniperct



Series: Kitty Pryde is Bisexual [3]
Category: X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 00:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11001927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sniperct/pseuds/sniperct
Summary: Every day on the same day, Illyana disappears for a few hours. This year, she takes Kitty along with her.





	Yearly Traditions

Every year on the same day, Illyana disappeared for several hours and when she came back, she was subdued but spoke nothing of where she’d gone or what she’d been up to. It was always the same, and after a couple of years everyone accepted it as just something Illyana did.

Kitty had asked Illyana once or twice about her yearly tradition, but Illyana hadn’t been forthcoming. She’d thought that maybe they weren’t back to that point where they could share everything, and when that day rolled around again, she decided not to ask this time. Instead, she put on some headphones and settled in for a rousing game of-

“Katya.”

“Hey!” Kitty pulled the headphones off, turning towards her. “Don’t you have a thing to do?”

“Da, I do.” Illyana shifted on her feet, exhibiting signs of nervousness that were unusual for her. Frankly, it made _Kitty_ nervous. “I want you to come with me this time.”

“Really?” Kitty could have made a smart comment, but something in Illyana’s eyes stopped her. This was really important to her. And if it was important to Illyana, it was important to Kitty. “Do I need to change?”

“What you’re wearing is fine.” Illyana held out her hand, and Kitty took it gladly. Their fingers became entwined, and Kitty looked at their joined hands as the glow of Illyana’s portal swept up around them.

When their vision cleared, they were standing on a dusty hilltop. The sky overhead was a hellish yellow, clouds moving at an unearthly pace. A desert stretched around them, punctuated by jagged rocks like demon teeth jutting from the ground.

They were in Limbo.

Kitty tensed, expecting a fight, but then Illyana started to walk down the hill, pulling Kitty after her into a small canyon. There was a slab, cracked in two from some great blow. Before Kitty could ask what was going on, Illyana spoke. “This is where it happened. Where I came to Limbo, where Belasco took my soul.”

She let go of Kitty’s hand, and leaned on the slab. “This is where I died, and became what I am.”

“‘Yana, you’re-”

Illyana cut her off by holding up her hand. “Let me finish. That little girl died here. What I became after was something different. It’s not wrong, it’s who I am.”

“Okay.” Kitty put her hand on Illyana’s shoulder, squeezing tightly. “Is that why you come here every year? To mourn the girl that was?”

“Da.” She turned to look at Kitty, and a faint smile whisped across her face. She remembered another Kitty, crueler and more harsh. Limbo stole innocence and destroyed hope, and the only way to survive was to be cruel and harsh. Having seen what could have been, Illyana was glad it had been her, and not Kitty who’d become cruel and harsh. But even without the experience of Limbo, Kitty had her own demons. Just not in the literal sense.

Illyana supposed that no one could expect to be innocent forever.

“What is it? Is there something in my teeth?”

“No.” Illyana’s arms looped around Kitty’s waist, and she leaned her head on her shoulder. She’d missed their easy familiarity with each other and had never really gotten over Kitty taking off into space with that jackass and leaving her to deal with the messes on Earth. Despite that, she was glad she was back.

Caught by surprise, Kitty held her. She didn’t know what to say, it wasn’t like she’d ever had to visit what was basically her own grave. For several moments they held each other in silence, before Kitty said, “Thank you for trusting me with this.”

Illyana started to say something profound, then cut herself off. Usually she’d stay here for the rest of the day, but now she decided that she didn’t really need to. She chuckled, and whispered, “I promise you our next date will be some place more fancy.”

Kitty’s head snapped back, and she stared at Illyana. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I said, let’s go home.”

“No, that’s not what you-” The rest of Kitty’s words were lost as Illyana’s portal pulled them out of Limbo and back home.


End file.
